Facing famine, some crafty marine microbes may set up an exclusive black market for their rations of phosphorus.

By converting the essential element of life into an unconventional chemical state, certain marine microbes could create a thriving exchange for phosphorus just among themselves, researchers report in the May 15 Science. The finding helps solve a long-standing mystery of why marine microbes create the unusual form of phosphorus, called phosphonate. It may also upend scientists’ theories of how phosphorus-containing compounds circulate among organisms and ecosystems, and the impact of that cycle.

This article is available only to subscribing members. Join the Society today or Log in.